’Elixir of Immortality’ at Çırağan Palace Kempinski

Güneştekin is one of Turkey’s most important painters and has spent years transferring the legends of Mesopotamia, Greece and Anatolia onto canvas. In "Iksir," curated by Beste Gursu, the artist has depicted mankind’s desire for immortality. The elixir of immortality is his subject and includes Gilgamis, the Phoenix, Sahmaran, Lokman Hekim and other legends of today. He comments on these legends in his paintings as a modern artist whose work comes from these lands. "Iksir" has turned the legends of the heroes of immortality into works of art.

Güneştekin was born in Batman in 1966. He received his first award in 1975 in the third grade of primary school after he had become acquainted with oil painting. His first exhibition opened in 1981 in the library of the lycee where he studied. After establishing his first professional workshop in Beyoglu in 1997, from 1997 to 2003 Güneştekin traveled through Anatolia, evaluating legends and putting them onto canvas. In 2003, he opened his first big exhibition at the Ataturk Cultural Center, "Colors After Dark." He continued painting, but in 2005 he also made a documentary, "In the Track of the Sun," shot for TRT and is still shown in weekly segments on TRT 2.

In 2008, 81 artists from 81 provinces started to create 81 exhibitions under the title "Experts and Exhibitions, In the Track of the Sun." Within the scope of this project, Güneştekin opened exhibitions in historical places and gathered experts in modern Turkish art and their works in Anatolia. The project is ongoing and once completed, Güneştekin will have an even more significant exhibition track record than he already does. He has so far personally participated in more than 100 solo and mixed exhibitions in the country and abroad and continues to work in his own workshop. His paintings can be found in many collections in Turkey and overseas.

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